Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History

by Andrew Rossos

Overview

Throughout history, every power that has aspired to dominate the Balkans, a crucial crossroads between Europe, Asia, and Africa, has sought to control Macedonia. But although Macedonia has figured prominently in history, its name was largely absent from the historical stage, representing only a disputed territory of indeterminate boundaries, until the nineteenth century. Successive invaders— Roman, Gothic, Hun, Slav, Ottoman— passed through or subjugated the area and incorporated it into their respective dynastic or territorial empires. This detailed volume surveys the history of Macedonia from 600 BC to the present day, with an emphasis on the past two centuries. It reveals how the "Macedonian question" has long dominated Balkan politics and how, for nearly two centuries, it was the central issue dividing Balkan peoples, as neighboring nations struggled for possession of Macedonia and denied any distinct Macedonian identity— territorial, political, ethnic, or national. The author concludes that Balkan acceptance of a Macedonian identity, nation, and state has become a necessity for stability in the Balkans and in a united Europe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780817948825
Publisher:	Hoover Institution Press
Publication date:	06/01/2008
Series:	Studies of Nationalities
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Andrew Rossos was born in Greek (Aegean) Macedonia. He was educated in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic), Canada, and the United States, receiving his PhD from Stanford University. He is currently professor emeritus of history at the University of Toronto, Canada
 

Table of Contents

Abbreviations     xi
List of Maps     xv
Preface     xvii
Land and People at the Crossroads     1
Land     1
People     3
From Argead Kingdom to Ottoman Vilayets (c. 600 BC-c. AD 1800)     9
From Argeads to Huns (c. 600 BC-c. AD 600)     11
The Early Kingdom (c. 600-359 BC)     12
Expansion and Empire (359-323 BC)     14
Division and Decline (323-168 BC)     15
Roman and Byzantine Rule, Goths, and Huns (168 BC-c. AD 600)     17
Medieval, Slavic Macedonia (c. 600-c. 1400)     19
The Byzantine Commonwealth     19
The Slavic Invasions     22
Macedonia (c. 600-c. 850)     25
Bulgarian Rule (864-971)     26
Tsar Samuil's Macedonian Empire (971-1018)     28
Macedonia: Cradle of Slav Orthodox Culture     32
Byzantine Rule and Chaos (1018-c. 1400)     35
Ottoman Rule (c. 1400-c. 1800)     41
The Ottoman Administration and the Orthodox Millet     43
Ottoman Expansion and Decline     45
Ottoman Decline and the Balkans (c. 1600-c. 1800)     48
Macedonia: Ethnic Transformation, Resistance, Anarchy, and Cultural Stagnation     51
National Awakening (c. 1800-1913)     59
Ottoman Reform and Decline (c. 1800-1908)     63
Macedonian Growth and Decline (1800-1870)     69
Propaganda War for Macedonia (1870-1900)     72
National Awakening and National Identity (1814-1913)     79
Historiography     79
Early Macedonian Nationalism (to 1870)     82
Paths to Nationhood (1870-1913)     87
The VMRO and Ilinden (1893-1903)     99
The VMRO (1893-1903)     100
Ilinden     106
Strangers in Their Homeland (1913-1940)     115
Decline and Partition (1903-1919)     117
The VMRO's Decline and Split (1903-1908)     117
Intervention, Wars, and Partition (1903-1913)     121
Sequel: The Great War and the Peace Settlement     127
Macedonia in Three Parts (1920s and 1930s)     131
Partition and Assimilation     131
Yugoslav (Vardar) Macedonia     133
Greek (Aegean) Macedonia     141
Bulgarian (Pirin) Macedonia     148
Macedonianism Survives     153
Macedonian Nationalism: From Right to Left (1920s and 1930s)     155
Unification Aborted (1924)     155
The VMRO and Macedonian Nationalism on the Right     160
VMRO (ob.): Macedonian Nationalism on the Left     165
Statehood and Independence (During and After the Second World War)     179
War and Revolution (1940-1949)     183
A New Partition (1941-1944)     183
Hostile Neutrality and Beyond (1941-1944)     186
Toward a Yugoslav Republic (1941-1944)     189
Greek and Bulgarian Macedonia (1941-1944)     197
Macedonians in a New Balkans (1944-1949)     202
Yugoslav Macedonia: Politics and Government (1944-1991)     213
Yugoslavia's New Dispensation (1944-1948)     214
Macedonia: Putting Dreams on Ice (1945-1948)     220
Yugoslav Communism (1948-1991)     226
Macedonia: A Junior Partner (1943-1991)     235
Economics, Culture, Minorities (1944-1991)     243
The Economy: Agriculture and Industry     243
Culture: Language, Education, and the Arts     249
National Minorities     256
Independent Republic (1991-2004)     261
Setting Up an Independent Republic     262
Seeking Foreign Recognition (1991-1995)     267
Politics in the 1990s: From Left to Right     273
Economic Problems      276
Macedonian-Albanian Relations     278
Epilogue     283
Notes     287
Bibliography     323
Index     349